From The Mandalorian and Grogu to Dear England: your complete entertainment guide to the week ahead

This article is a weekly entertainment guide from The Guardian, covering cinema, gigs, art, stage, streaming, games, albums, and brain food. In the art section, it highlights three upcoming exhibitions: Hulda Guzmán's first major European show at Turner Contemporary in Margate (23 May to 13 September), featuring her lush, mystical tropical paintings exploring Caribbean identity; Lewis Hammond's exhibition of dark, old master-inspired portraiture at The Hepworth in Wakefield (23 May to 1 November); and Joanna Piotrowska's show at The Common Guild in Glasgow (23 May to 18 July).

Beijing Oomph 2026

Beijing Oomph 2026 is a curated guide to the best contemporary art exhibitions across galleries and institutions in Beijing, timed to coincide with the Beijing Dangdai art fair and Gallery Weekend at the end of May. The article highlights Zhi Wei's exhibition "Folly" at Beijing Commune as a key show, reflecting the city's vibrant art scene during this concentrated period of gallery openings and events.

Art Dubai’s 20th edition rallies its local art community amid regional tensions.

Art Dubai, the UAE's premier art fair, opened its 20th edition as a scaled-down "Special Edition" from May 14–17 at Madinat Jumeirah, after being postponed due to the Iran–Israel war. For the first time, entry was free, and the lineup was pared to 50 galleries, most from the region, including Abu Dhabi, Beirut, Jeddah, Ramallah, and Dubai.

Horst Antes at 90: Major Shows Celebrate German New Figuration Pioneer

German artist Horst Antes, born in 1936, is being celebrated with two major exhibitions timed to his 90th birthday. Galerie Koch in Hannover presents a solo show titled “Horst Antes: Exhibition Marking the Artist’s 90th Birthday,” while the Sprengel Museum Hannover concurrently mounts “A Collection,” featuring roughly 80 works from its holdings. The shows highlight Antes’s pioneering role in New Figuration, particularly his iconic “Kopffüßler” (Head-Footer) character, which appears across paintings, sculptures, and works on paper from 1969 to 2014. The Galerie Koch exhibition also foregrounds his “House Pictures,” which explore architecture through non-hierarchical color planes and ambiguous perspective.

Guggenheim New York Announces Spring and Summer Public Programs

The Guggenheim New York has announced its spring and summer 2026 public programs, featuring a range of events including a performance lecture by LG Guggenheim Award recipient Trevor Paglen on May 18, a conversation between artist Carol Bove and curator Katherine Brinson on June 2, and the annual Museum Mile Festival on June 9. Other highlights include Late Shift evening events with live music, family-friendly activities like Stroller Hour and Art Cart, Teen Circle and Teen Tuesdays, and a screening of Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno's video work "Zidane, a 21st century portrait" in celebration of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Poet-in-Residence Patrick Rosal will also launch summer activations.

UAE art guide: 11 museum and gallery exhibitions to see, from Picasso to the Baghdad Modern Art Group

The article presents a guide to 11 current museum and gallery exhibitions across the UAE, following the conclusion of Art Dubai 2026. Highlights include "Picasso, The Figure" at Louvre Abu Dhabi, which examines Pablo Picasso's reinvention of the human body through works from the Musée National Picasso–Paris; "From the Perspective of Language" at The Third Line, featuring Sara Naim's paintings and video work; and "Move, pause, return" at Gallery Isabelle, marking its 20th anniversary with daily unveilings by artists including Hassan Sharif and Mohammed Kazem. Other notable shows include "Reflections: Modern and Contemporary Art from the Villain Collection" at Bassam Freiha Art Foundation.

White Stripes Frontman Jack White Is Showing Art at Damien Hirst’s Gallery

Jack White, frontman of the White Stripes, is opening a sculpture exhibition at Damien Hirst’s Newport Street Gallery in London. Titled “Jack White: THESE THOUGHTS MAY DISAPPEAR,” the show runs from May 29 to September 13 and features found-object sculptures, furniture designs, notebooks, and photography. White and Hirst first met in 2021 when White was opening a Third Man Records store near Hirst’s studio, and Hirst encouraged White to mount a show after seeing his artwork.

Wem die Glocke schlägt

The Kunsthalle Wien has revived its recurring exhibition format "Lebt und arbeitet in Wien" (Lives and Works in Vienna) for the fifth time since 2000, presenting 56 artists selected from a pool of 700 local practitioners. Curated by Daniel Baumann, Monika Georgieva, and Michelle Cotton, the show spans two venues—the Museumsquartier and Karlsplatz—featuring works in painting, sculpture, installation, film, and video that reflect the city's diverse artistic landscape. The exhibition marks a return after a decade-long hiatus, filling gaps left since the previous edition under the curatorial collective WHW.

Faces of Russian Art

Gesichter der russischen Kunst

On the Venice Biennale, the Russian Pavilion presents itself as a space for dialogue, while simultaneously a major exhibition in St. Petersburg titled "Russischer Imperativ" (Russian Imperative) opened on May 8 at the Manezh exhibition hall, glorifying war as a historical imperative of Russian identity. Curated by Anton Belikov, a Moscow artist and former Russian soldier who fought in Ukraine, the show features works from state museums like the Tretyakov Gallery, blending historical battles with the current war in Ukraine, and includes a monumental, fascistoid design with a ten-meter-tall installation of a soldier's head. The exhibition has sparked outrage on social media and in Russian exile media for its militaristic propaganda.

Exhibition at Bellevue Palace: Rush causes server crash

Ausstellung im Schloss Bellevue: Ansturm legt Server lahm

Berlin's Schloss Bellevue, the official residence of German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, is being transformed into a pop-up art gallery from June 13 to 28 before undergoing a multi-year renovation. The exhibition, titled "Freiraum Kunst," features works by artists including Katharina Grosse, Wolfgang Tillmans, and Monica Bonvicini. However, the ticket booking system crashed due to overwhelming demand, causing delays and prompting the Akademie der Künste to work on resolving the technical issues, assuring the public that tickets are still available.

Watching the Great Form Shatter

Der großen Form beim Zerbrechen zuschauen

Marc Brandenburg, a Berlin-based artist born in 1965, is the subject of a comprehensive survey exhibition titled "20th Century Debris" at the Berlinische Galerie. The show presents his meticulous pencil drawings on paper, which invert light and dark and are viewed under blacklight to create ghostly, dissolving images. Brandenburg's works fragment urban spaces, faces, and everyday objects into shimmering, unstable forms, drawing on photography and photocopying to produce a sense of eerie stillness and motion. The exhibition also includes his first films, tracing his stylistic evolution from early 1990s fragmented portraits to large-scale panoramic works with metallic surfaces.

On Île Seguin, the new art center Large unveils its spectacular building and a first exhibition focused on Renault's history

Sur l’île Seguin, le nouveau centre d’art Large dévoile son bâtiment spectaculaire et une première expo tournée vers l’histoire de Renault

On Île Seguin, the new contemporary art center Large unveiled its spectacular building designed by Catalan firm RCR Arquitectes during a press preview on May 21. The center, backed by real estate developer Emerige and its president Laurent Dumas, will open to the public on October 17. Its inaugural exhibition, curated by Cecilia Alemani, explores the history of the automobile and the island's industrial past as the site of Renault factories from 1929 to 1992, featuring works by 55 contemporary artists including Julio Le Parc, Nina Beier, Thomas Bayrle, Mohamed El Khatib, and Giulia Andreani.

Venice Biennale: A Silent US Pavilion

Biennale de Venise : un Pavillon US silencieux

The US Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale, featuring artist Alma Allen, opened to sparse crowds despite a 10% overall attendance increase at the Biennale. The pavilion was embroiled in controversy before opening: Allen was selected by the American Arts Conservancy (AAC), a private entity created in 2025 at the initiative of Donald Trump after the dissolution of the federal committee that previously oversaw the pavilion. AAC head Jenni Parido, a former pet food executive, chose the self-taught, little-known artist who had never had a solo museum exhibition. Major funders the Ford and Mellon Foundations withdrew, forcing the AAC to launch a public donation appeal. The exhibition features 25 abstract bronze, stone, and burl-wood sculptures that the artist describes as biomorphic landscapes, but critics find them pleasant yet silent, lacking the promised political or visceral resonance.

Unfolding narratives (...)

Sakshi Gallery is marking its 40th anniversary with an exhibition titled "Unfolding narratives: perspectives in contemporary Indian art" at the Mall Galleries in London, opening June 30, 2026. The show features works by six artists—Amit Ambalal, Manjunath Kamath, Ravinder Reddy, Rekha Rodwittiya, Shine Shivan, and Surendran Nair—who have significantly shaped Indian contemporary art. Many works were created specifically for the exhibition, offering insight into the artists' current directions. The presentation serves as a prelude to a larger institutional exhibition planned for 2027 in London.

Mario Schifano al Palazzo Esposizioni di Roma. Una grande mostra che ci insegna a guardare

Palazzo Esposizioni in Rome has opened a major exhibition dedicated to Mario Schifano (1934–1998), running alongside a solo show by Marco Tirelli titled "Anni Luce." The exhibition, curated by Daniela Lancioni, explores Schifano's work through the lens of Kazimir Malevich's Suprematism, particularly his 1915 "Black Square." It features Schifano's early monochromes from 1960, his painting "Chiamato K. Malewič" (1965), and a rarely seen pre-1960 phase including landscapes and informal works from 1956–1959, which have often been marginalized in his official catalog.

Georgia State’s Welch School Presents Exhibition Celebrating Legacy of Artist Larry M. Walker

Georgia State University's Ernest G. Welch School of Art & Design will present "Where Being Takes Root: Works by Southern Artists From the Larry M. and Gwendolyn E. Walker Collection," a landmark exhibition running from June 4 to October 15 in the Welch School Galleries. The show celebrates the legacy of artist and professor emeritus Larry M. Walker (1935–2023), whose personal collection of over 300 works was donated to the university after his death. Curated by Lauren Jackson Harris, the exhibition features artists including Charles White, Radcliffe Bailey, Kevin Cole, Bethany Collins, Benny Andrews, David Driskell, Steve Prince, and Kara Walker, with a dedicated Walker Family Gallery showcasing works by Larry Walker, his wife Gwen, and their children Dana, Larry Jr., and Kara Walker.

Lost bunny paintings by JFK's photographer found in ABQ storage

A trove of paintings by Eddie Johnson, an obscure artist who photographed President John F. Kennedy in 1962 as assistant to Elaine de Kooning, has been discovered in a storage unit in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The archive, saved from disposal by the artist's estate, includes a major series of bunny-themed works created between 1972 and 1995, all based on a worn plush toy. Artist Matthan Cowart organized the exhibition "Hares on the Mountain" at his gallery Desert Mystery Center, pairing Johnson's bunny paintings with works by 11 living artists including David Altmejd and Ed Haddaway.

Hong Kong Artists Bring Quiet Reflection to Venice

The 61st Venice Biennale, themed “In Minor Keys” by late curator Koyo Kouoh, emphasizes quiet reflection over spectacle. A collateral exhibition titled “Fermata: Hong Kong in Venice,” curated by the Hong Kong Museum of Art (HKMoA), runs through November 22, 2026, and features two Hong Kong-born artists: Kingsley Ng and Angel Hui. Ng’s installation *Laundry Nocturne* (2026) uses projections and sound to connect the shared laundry-drying traditions of Venice and Hong Kong, while Hui’s *I Would Like to Open a Window for You* (2026) incorporates wrought-iron window frames crafted with local metalsmiths. Both artists explore everyday experiences, memory, and quiet emotions, aligning with the Biennale’s call for a slower, more reflective engagement with art.

Gedi Sibony “The Invisible Point” at Greene Naftali, New York

Gedi Sibony presents "The Invisible Point" at Greene Naftali in New York, an exhibition featuring sculptures made from remnants and castoffs that aggregate toward the center of the gallery. The artist describes the process as adaptive, driven by intuitive momentum and organized through allegorical structure, with background landscapes depicting interacting beings that emerge from and create their own conditions.

‘Entertainment is often violence shrouded in a fun disguise’: Marianna Simnett on being tickled for hours and having Botox injected into her throat

Marianna Simnett, a Croatian British multi-disciplinary artist, discusses her new exhibition 'Circus' at the Secession in Vienna, which features a light, sound, and sculpture installation in a pitch-black basement. The show includes works like 'Catherine Wheel' (2026), a blue spinning reflective skirt accompanied by the sound of the artist being tickled for four hours, and 'Fountain' (2026), a neon of a woman urinating referencing Balkan folklore. Simnett explores themes of violence, desire, pain, and power, often using her own body as a site of transformation, as in her earlier work 'The Needle and the Larynx' (2016) where she had Botox injected into her throat.

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts receives major gift of photography

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) announced a major gift of 1,986 photographs from Joy of Giving Something, Inc. (JGS), a nonprofit founded by financier Howard Stein. The donation includes works by over 450 artists, spanning the 19th century to the present, with highlights such as rare daguerreotypes by Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey, prints by Gustave Le Gray and Eugène Atget, and significant holdings in American documentary photography from figures like Dorothea Lange and Walker Evans. The gift follows an earlier 2023 donation of portfolios and series, and positions VMFA to open five new photography galleries in 2027 as part of its expansion.

Talk | FRESH PAINT: Tschabalala Self

The Parrish Art Museum and The FLAG Art Foundation are hosting a talk on May 23, 2026, featuring artist Tschabalala Self and writer Camille Okhio to celebrate the exhibition "FRESH PAINT: Tschabalala Self." The event includes a conversation about Self’s painting "Adam and Eve" (2025), which is being shown for the first time in the U.S. as part of the FRESH PAINT series, a rotating single-artwork exhibition program that highlights new or rarely seen works.

Human Connection Cuts Through Technology at Focus Art Fair

Focus Art Fair, New York's only art fair dedicated to contemporary Asian art, returned for its fourth edition at Chelsea Industrial, running through May 24, 2026. The fair's theme, 'human-technology coexistence,' was explored through works such as Hwia Kim's interactive installation 'What if two eyes don't work together?' presented by LG Electronics, and pieces by the Ukrainian-born F-Twins (Anna and Valeriia Lyshchenko), who founded the Primarealism art movement in response to AI's encroachment on critical thinking. Other highlights included Annu Yadav's political installation 'This Land is Wounded' (2025) and Taezoo Park's 'Hacked Snoopy' (2025), which memorializes neglected technologies. The fair featured more than 40 galleries and presenters, with a notable appearance by Japanese pop icon Kento Senga, who shared his FiNGA character as a means of connecting with his grandmother suffering from Alzheimer's.

Mimmo Jodice in mostra al nuovo Museo del Tesoro di San Gennaro a Napoli. Rare foto ‘barocche’ a colori

Mimmo Jodice, the renowned Italian photographer who died in October 2025 at age 91, is being honored with a new exhibition at the Museo del Tesoro di San Gennaro in Naples. The show, curated by former Capodimonte director Sylvain Bellenger, presents Jodice's rare color photographs from the 1980s—his only color project—which focus on 17th-century Neapolitan Baroque paintings by artists such as Caravaggio, Jusepe de Ribera, and Artemisia Gentileschi. The exhibition runs until January 10, 2027, and also marks the inauguration of newly renovated welcome spaces at the museum, designed by Vanni del Gaudio.

A Decade of Contemporary Art: Gallery Weekend Beijing Turns 10

Gallery Weekend Beijing (GWBJ) will celebrate its 10th anniversary with the 2026 edition running from May 22 to May 31, opening with three VIP days before going public on May 26. Founded in 2017, the event features curated exhibitions from 30 galleries and 10 non-profit institutions across Beijing, anchored in the 798 Art District and extending to Caochangdi and the CBD Art District. A new Academic Committee—comprising Guo Xi, Leng Lin, Tian Yuan, Xi Tao, and Yang Beichen—selected the participating galleries, with 25 returning from previous editions and five newly nominated. Highlights include institutional presentations at UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, Red Brick Art Museum, and SONG Art Museum, as well as a special exhibition titled "Nirvana" by Ouyang Chun.

In Pol Taburet’s New Show, Being Paranoid Is the Point

French artist Pol Taburet has opened a solo exhibition titled *Paranoia as Method* at Villa Medici in Rome, on view through July 15. The show features sculptures, large-format paintings, and charcoal drawings created during his spring residency at the institution, transforming the villa’s gardens, loggias, and salons into tense psychic landscapes. Taburet’s figures drift between human and animal, evoking transformation, mortality, and spiritual tension, drawing on his Caribbean roots, voodoo traditions, contemporary culture, and classical painting.

A Persian Garden Blooms on Governors Island

Artist Bahar Behbahani organized a four-hour event called "Damask Rose: A Gathering" on Governors Island, transforming three shallow fountains with handwoven carpets and crocheted canopies. The gathering featured West African musical improvisation, Kurdish poetry, a cyanotype workshop, and communal activities like hair braiding and tea ceremonies, involving over two dozen community groups including the Asia Contemporary Art Forum and Eat Offbeat. The event was part of Governors Island Arts's annual Interventions series, curated with associate curator Juan Pablo Siles.

Yoko Ono finally gets a solo show in Southern California

Yoko Ono finally receives her first solo exhibition in Southern California with "Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind" opening May 23, 2026 at the Broad museum in Los Angeles. The retrospective spans seven decades of her work as a conceptual artist, peace activist, and musician, featuring instructional pieces like "Painting to Hammer a Nail" (1961/1966), her famous 1964 book "Grapefruit," and a video of her iconic performance "Cut Piece." The exhibition, organized in collaboration with Tate Modern, also includes participatory elements such as "Wish Trees for Los Angeles" (1996/2026) and a series of peace-themed billboards, running through October 11, 2026.

Ohio State’s Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum to reopen Saturday with new exhibitions

Ohio State University's Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum, home to the world's largest cartoon and comic collection, will reopen on Saturday after being closed since November 10, 2025. The reopening features renovated galleries, a new permanent exhibition titled "Story of Comics" that traces 400 years of cartoon art, and the U.S. debut of cartoonist Chris Ware's major international exhibition "Life Is Complicated," on display until January 3, 2027. The museum houses 300,000 original cartoons and 2.5 million newspaper comic strip pages and clippings.

Art fair showcases Beijing’s evolution as cultural destination - China Daily

The Beijing Dangdai Art Fair opened on Thursday at the National Agricultural Exhibition Center, running through Sunday. It features a wide range of works from late artist Zao Wou-ki’s tiny sketch drafts to large-scale installation art and robot pieces co-developed by artists and tech companies. Galleries from Beijing’s 798 art zone, other Chinese cities, and international institutions are participating. The fair also marks the launch of the 2026 Beijing Art Season, which includes Beijing Design Week and Gallery Weekend Beijing, and offers an off-site exhibition at WONDER · China World Mall through May 31.